Abstract

For any reader interested in euthanasia, On Dying Well gives an accessible yet detailed account of the Church of England's view on the subject. First published in 1975, this short report is the product of the Church's Board for Social Responsibility, which brought together theologians, philosophers, lawyers, and medical professionals to form a working party with the remit of examining euthanasia. The second edition of On Dying Well leaves most of the original working party report findings unaltered, but adds a new introduction by Professor Stuart Horner, chairman of the British Medical Association's ethics committee from 1989 to 1997. Other changes to the first edition are a redrafted chapter on the legal questions surrounding euthanasia in light of new cases pertinent to the debate and additional reflections on the report's medical content. Also included is an updated bibliography, listing publications produced after 1975 and, in appendix form, the 1993 Joint Submission to the House of Lords Select Committee on Medical Ethics made by the House of Bishops of the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. On …